diff --git a/crates/ml/tests/smoke_test_real_data.rs b/crates/ml/tests/smoke_test_real_data.rs
index 4a6f8ba56..b0f4404e1 100644
--- a/crates/ml/tests/smoke_test_real_data.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/tests/smoke_test_real_data.rs
@@ -141,9 +141,10 @@ fn smoke_ohlcv_parse_and_extract_features() {
     // Single symbol for CI speed
     let Some(ohlcv_dir) = try_data("ohlcv/ES.FUT").or_else(|| try_data("ohlcv")) else { return };
 
-    // Load OHLCV bars from .dbn.zst
-    let bars = ml::hyperopt::adapters::dbn_loader::load_bars_from_dbn_dir(&ohlcv_dir)
+    // Load OHLCV bars from .dbn.zst (capped for CI speed)
+    let mut bars = ml::hyperopt::adapters::dbn_loader::load_bars_from_dbn_dir(&ohlcv_dir)
         .expect("Failed to load OHLCV bars from DBN");
+    if bars.len() > 2000 { bars.truncate(2000); }
 
     info!(count = bars.len(), dir = %ohlcv_dir.display(), "Loaded OHLCV bars");
     assert!(bars.len() > 100, "Expected >100 bars, got {}", bars.len());
@@ -429,10 +430,14 @@ mod gpu_smoke {
         mbp10_dir: Option<&Path>,
         stream: &Arc<CudaStream>,
     ) -> Result<(CudaSlice<f32>, CudaSlice<f32>, usize), anyhow::Error> {
-        // 1. Load OHLCV bars
-        let bars = ml::hyperopt::adapters::dbn_loader::load_bars_from_dbn_dir(ohlcv_dir)
+        // 1. Load OHLCV bars (capped for CI speed)
+        const MAX_BARS_CI: usize = 2000;
+        let mut bars = ml::hyperopt::adapters::dbn_loader::load_bars_from_dbn_dir(ohlcv_dir)
             .expect("Failed to load OHLCV bars");
-        info!(count = bars.len(), "Loaded OHLCV bars");
+        if bars.len() > MAX_BARS_CI {
+            bars.truncate(MAX_BARS_CI);
+        }
+        info!(count = bars.len(), "Loaded OHLCV bars (capped to {})", MAX_BARS_CI);
 
         // 2. Extract 42-dim features
         let features = ml::features::extract_ml_features(&bars)